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A review by katherineshawwrites
Ad Luna by Hûw Steer
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.0
Well, what a fascinating book! The concept is truly original, in that it's an Ancient Greek tale of adventure set in space, and the imaginative world-building does it justice. Steer creates wondrous Lunar and Solar worlds which feel fresh and new whilst maintaining that mythological flavour we would expect from such a story.
The characters are great, especially Lucian, who inspired the whole book with his fantastical tales in ancient times, and his characterisation in the book is excellent. A scholar, a diplomat and a friend to our protagonist Dio, Lucian is endearing throughout, and pivotal to the success of the story. Dio himself is more understated, but no less likeable, and I enjoy seeing him become more confident in his role as an officer and later an ambassador, and reassessing his own ambitions and priorities.
I will say that the second half of the book far outshines the first. While I enjoyed the novel as a whole, there's an odd lack of motivation for the characters to be doing what they're doing at times, and the the battle scenes go on far longer than I think is necessary, meaning the plot lulls in the middle. Saying that, I'm glad I persevered through the slightly tedious mid-point and experienced everything that comes afterwards, as there was a very satisfying and even somewhat heartwarming climax and ending to come.
The characters are great, especially Lucian, who inspired the whole book with his fantastical tales in ancient times, and his characterisation in the book is excellent. A scholar, a diplomat and a friend to our protagonist Dio, Lucian is endearing throughout, and pivotal to the success of the story. Dio himself is more understated, but no less likeable, and I enjoy seeing him become more confident in his role as an officer and later an ambassador, and reassessing his own ambitions and priorities.
I will say that the second half of the book far outshines the first. While I enjoyed the novel as a whole, there's an odd lack of motivation for the characters to be doing what they're doing at times, and the the battle scenes go on far longer than I think is necessary, meaning the plot lulls in the middle. Saying that, I'm glad I persevered through the slightly tedious mid-point and experienced everything that comes afterwards, as there was a very satisfying and even somewhat heartwarming climax and ending to come.